Coffee Prices At Starbucks Rising

July 1, 2014

Coffee may be America’s favorite drink, but prices are rising at one of the most popular coffee chains in the world, Starbucks. On Thursday, prices rose between 5 and 20 cents. That may not seem very high, but the cost looks like it will just go up from here on out.

Reuters reported that Starbucks made the price hike announcement only a few weeks after J.M. Smucker Company made a similar hike on famous coffee products with its subsidiaries, Dunkin’ Donuts and Folgers.

Why the price change? Coffee rust fungus may be to blame. Production of Latin American coffee is expected to drop up to 40%. “Coffee rust threatens more than your morning coffee – it affects jobs, businesses, and the security of millions across the Americas,” said Mark Feierstein, of the United States Agency for International Development. “We must tackle this outbreak to ensure farmers and laborers have stable incomes, don’t start growing illicit crops, or be forced to migrate because they can no longer support their families. This partnership will tap innovative solutions to address the immediate and long-term impacts of coffee rust and help this key agriculture sector rebound.”

In America, the city to be most affected will be New York, especially Midtown Manhattan. According to a study by Quartz, New York City has the most Starbucks stores out of any city in America, 277 to be exact. 210 of those are on Manhattan, with 62 between 59th Street and 42nd Street alone.

However, New York is still behind the city with the most Starbucks in the world. Seoul has 284 stores. “Seoul is just coffee crazy,” Andrew Hetzel, coffee expert, told NBC News.

Coffee prices have not stopped Starbucks’ implementation of its “College Achievement Plan” with Arizona State University. The Street reported that it will offer free college tuition for some students, perhaps even as a way to stop high employee turnover.

But will they make a video about the rising cost of coffee? Probably not.